Kell's 2011 Reading Log

[Kell]

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

 

By following links to blogs taking part in various memes, I’ve heard about so many great books it would be impossible to list them all. I’m also a regular visitor to our local library and am always eagerly awaiting newly published books by my favourite authors. However, here are the ones that really stood out for me this week and for which I’ll be looking out on future book acquisition expeditions:

• Ken Harmon – The Fat Man; A Tale of North Pole Noir
  
• Victoria Lamb – The Queen’s Secret
  
• Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
  
• Malinda Lo – Huntress (Prequel to Ash)
  
• Elana Johnson – Possession (Possession book 1)
  
• William Joyce – Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King (Guardians of Childhood 1)
  

They’ve all gone onto my wish list!

 

[Kell]

MUSING MONDAYS

Did you get any books for Christmas? If so, what were they?

If you didn’t, what books are you most looking forward to reading (and/or buying) in the new year?

 

I got two books for Xmas from my wishlist:

• Simon Scarrow – Praetorian (Romans 11)
  
• Philippa Gregory – The Women of the Cousins’ War: The Duchess, the Queen and the King’s Mother
  

 

I also got a Kindle (yay!), which I’ve loaded up with a few freebies and some other books I came across while looking at the freebies:

• Carmen Caine – The Glass Wall (Glass Wall 1)
  
• Blake Crouch – Run
  
• Diana Dempsey – Falling Star
  
• Charles Dickens – David Copperfield
  
• George Eliot – Middlemarch
  
• Jack Erickson – Perfect Crime
  
• Julia Golding – The Middle Passage (Cat Royal novella)
  
• Amanda Grange – Captain Wentworth’s Diary
  
• Amanda Grange – Darcy’s Diary
  
• Richard Herley – The Penal Colony
  
• Amanda Hocking – Hollowland (Hollows 1)
  
• Rod Hoisington – One Deadly Sister (Sandy Reid 1)
  
• Lorena McCourt – Invisible (IvyMalone 1)
  
• Brian McGillowy – The Stolen Child
  
• SJ Parris – Heresy (Giordano Bruno 1)
  
• Bettie Sharp – Ember
  
• Cody Young – Scandal at the Farmhouse
  

I’m heading into town to spend some of my Xmas money on books today too. My wishlist is about a gazillion miles long, so I’ll just list here the ones I’m most likely to bring home with me if I get the chance (in alphabetical order by author surname):

• Kendare Blake – Anna Dressed In Blood
  
• Richard Castle – Heat Rises (Nikki Heat 3)
  
• Amanda Grange – Henry Tilney’s Diary
  
• Benjamin Hale – The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore
  
• Susan Hill – Howard’s End Is On The Landing
  
• Marissa Meyer – Cinder
  
• Jackson Pierce – Sisters Red
  
• Jonathan Pinnock – Mrs Darcy Versus the Aliens
  
• Terry Pratchett – Snuff (Discworld 39)
  
• Ransom Riggs – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
  

 

 

~***~

 

COVER CRAZY

What I Love:

The intricate arrangement of cogs fronted by a keyhole; the banner with the title; the arrangement of the aforementioned items looking like a hot air balloon suspended above a city in a night sky; the rich-looking border; the fact that it looks a little steampunk-ish. It’s just a gorgeous cover and I love the colours on it.

 

Synopsis:

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

 

~***~

 

IT'S MONDAY, WHAT ARE YOU READING?

 

Sarah Singleton – Heretic

One I picked up from the library and have just started. Literally just started, so I can’t really make any comment on what I think of it just yet. I’ve enjoyed both the other books I’ve read by this author, though, so I expect to like this one too. The subject matter (a young girl being accused of witchcraft during Tudor reign) is one that interests me a great deal.

 

Philippa Gregory – The Women of the Cousins’ War

This one’s non-fiction, which I don’t usually read, but I adored the Cousins’ War trilogy and found the women featured in them to be very interesting and wanted to find out more. As I also love Philippa Gregory’s writing, the publication of this book seemed the perfect opportunity for me to delve a little deeper.

 

[Kell]

TEASER TUESDAYS

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

 

 

My teaser:

 

If someone had peered into the tree trunk, while the child was in the shadow land, what would they have seen? A heap of dried leaves, perhaps shaped like a figure, and underneath, a dry bone or two – the link holding the child to the ordinary world.

- page 2, Heretic by Sarah Singleton

 

Synopsis:

When Elizabeth finds a green-tinged creature in the woods she’s amazed to discover that it’s actually a girl of her own age. Isabella has spent the last 300 years in the faery world, hiding from persecutors who accused her of being the daughter of a witch. Elizabeth has her own persecutors to face. A catholic priest is hiding in her home – an act of treason in 1586 – and the net is closing in. As they become friends, Elizabeth and Isabella must find a way to protect the family from being torn apart.

 

What I think of it so far:

I’ve literally just started this one and am only a few pages in, hence the teaser being from so early in the book, but so far I’m enjoying it. Singleton has an easy to read style that manages to be very descriptive but without using too many words – she’s concise and uses no more language than is absolutely necessary. If the other two books by her I’ve read and enjoyed are anything to go by, this one will be a similarly joyous read!

 

 

 

~***~

 

TOP TEN TUESDAY

TOP TEN FAVOURITE BOOKS I READ IN 2011

1. Frances Hodgson Burnett – A Little Princess
   
2. Frances Hodgson Burnett – The Secret Garden
   
3. Emma Donoghue – Room
   
4. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart
   
5. James Long – Ferney
   
6. John Boyne – Crippen (Transworld Book Group)
   
7. Stuart MacBride – Shatter the Bones (Logan McRae 7)
   
8. Erin Morgenstern – The Night Circus
   
9. Simon Scarrow – The Legion (Romans 10)
   
10. Jeanne Kalogridis – The Borgia Bride
    

Clicking on the links will take you to the posts where I have given brief reviews of each book.

[nursenblack]

Woohoo for the Kindle! I'm sure you'll love it. They have library loan capability now, so that's more free books to read.

[Kell]

W... W... W... Wednesdays

* What are you currently reading?

* What did you recently finish reading?

* What do you think you’ll read next?

 

 

 

What are you currently reading?

Sarah Singleton – Heretic

One I picked up from the library and have just started. Literally just started, so I can’t really make any comment on what I think of it just yet. I’ve enjoyed both the other books I’ve read by this author, though, so I expect to like this one too. The subject matter (a young girl being accused of witchcraft during Tudor reign) is one that interests me a great deal.

 

Philippa Gregory – The Women of the Cousins’ War

This one’s non-fiction, which I don’t usually read, but I adored the Cousins’ War trilogy and found the women featured in them to be very interesting and wanted to find out more. As I also love Philippa Gregory’s writing, the publication of this book seemed the perfect opportunity for me to delve a little deeper.

 

Bettie Sharpe – Ember (Kindle e-book)

A different view of the Cinderella story which turns what we think we know upside down. I’m about 30% of the way through this and I have to say it is utterly brilliant! I’ve always loved reworked fairytales, but this one really is excellent. If it continues as well as it’s gone so far, Sharpe will become a new favourite author of mine! It’s under a quid, so if you have a Kindle, download it NOW! If you don’t have a kindle, you can also read it free on the author’s website.

 

What did you recently finish reading?

Maureen Johnson – The Name of the Star (Shades of London 1) - 4/5

This one was a zippy-fast read and I loved it! I’m a bit of a Ripper-ologist (not an expert, but I know an awful lot about the Ripper case and have read many books on th subject as I find it so fascinating). It’s a rip(per)-roaring read (sorry, I couldn’t resist a very poor pun there) and it lends itself well to short bursts of reading without losing anything by it. An excellent start to the series – I’ll be picking up the others for sure!

 

Julia Golding – The Middle Passage (Cat Royal novella) (Kindle e-book) - 3/5

I’m quite sad to have finished all the Cat Royal books as I’ve enjoyed them a great deal. I sincerely hope Golding decides to write Cat’s further adventures at some point, as I’m sure she’ll continue to have an exciting life packed with all manner of adventures. This one occurs between the last two books and is available for free download.

 

Michael Mullins – 8 (Kindle e-book) - 4/5

Did I already mention I adore reworked fairytales? Well, this one does just that – and it rhymes! It’s incredibly short, but incredibly funny, and tells the untold story of the 8th dwarf (called Creepy) who was forced to live in the cellar but managed to save Snow White’s life several times (not that he ever got any thanks for it!). Mullins is an author to watch in the future if this is anything to go by!

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Marissa Meyer – Cinder (Lunar Chronicles 1)

Bought with some of my Xmas money – I intend to continue on my reworked fairytales bent with this one. I’ve seen it all over the blogosphere and all reviews have been very positive. And it has an awesome cover too!

[Kell]

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY

 

What were your favorite books of 2011?

My favourite reads of 2011, all of which were five-star reads, were:

1. Frances Hodgson Burnett – A Little Princess
   
2. Frances Hodgson Burnett – The Secret Garden
   
3. Emma Donoghue – Room
   
4. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart
   
5. James Long – Ferney
   
6. Bettie Sharpe – Ember(Kindle e-book)
   

 

[Nollaig]

Either I missed you reading Inkheart, or I've forgotten all about knowing you did! Either way, I'm really glad you enjoyed it (and the second one) - Dustfinger is by far and way one of my favourite characters too. I love him! I'm a tad obsessed with the whole 'meeting your maker' aspect of Dustfinger meeting Fenoglio in the first book, and the idea of stepping outside the limits of your defined character, or the idea our creations taking on minds of their own. I make it all too philosophical for a kids book! It's awesome though.

 

I actually haven't read the third one, though I have bought it. It has just been so long since I read Inkspell that I found Inkdeath very difficult to get into. In the end I read a synopsis of it, and other peoples reviews, which were less than glowing. I'm sure I'll get to it eventually but I'm in no rush!

[Kell]

I adored Inkheart. Inkspell was pretty decent, but nowhere near as good as Inkheart. As for Indeath, I couldn't even finish it - I was so disappointed as the trilogy had such a brilliant start! And I agree, Dustfinger is a fantastic character - I love him dearly.

[Kell]

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week?

Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

 

By following links to blogs taking part in various memes, I’ve heard about so many great books it would be impossible to list them all. I’m also a regular visitor to our local library and am always eagerly awaiting newly published books by my favourite authors. However, here are the ones that really stood out for me this week and for which I’ll be looking out on future book acquisition expeditions:

• Michelle Moran – The Second Empress
  
• C W Gortner – The Queen’s Vow
  
• Madeline Miller – The Song of Achilles
  
• Kelley York – Hushed
  
• David Pinner – Ritual
  
• Kathleen O’Dell – The Aviary
  
• Jonathan Auxier – Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes
  

They’ve all gone onto my wish list!

 

 

[Kell]

DECEMBER BOOK ROUND-UP

Thanks to getting a Kindle from Santa, my reading this month was rather more than I expected as I find I read faster on the Kindle than with physical books. Perhaps it’s purely because I don’t lose that second when I physically turn the page – I just press the button and continue reading uninterrupted. Anyway, here’s the round-up for the last month of the year…

 

 

 

RATINGS:

1/5 Dire – don’t waste your time

2/5 OK, but nothing to write home about

3/5 Very good – worth a read

4/5 Excellent

5/5 Superb – read it immediately!

 

BOOKS FINISHED:

81. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely 1) - 2/5

First in the Wicked Lovely series. It’s alright, but nothing to write home about. I’ve read rave reviews of this series all over the place, so I might give it a chance and read the second one, but there wasn’t anything particularly original about it other than it’s fairies instead of sparkly teenaged emo vampires (I’m sure you get my drift). The female lead is a good deal stronger than the “heroine” of the aforementioned sparkly vamps series, so that’s something in its favour at least. Actually, if I awarded half stars, I might add that extra half here, but I don’t so it has two stars only. Still, the series might get better…

 

82. Sarah Singleton – The Poison Garden - 3/5

I enjoyed this one, but not as much as I thought it would. It got a little garbled in the middle with all the garden stuff, but straightened itself out again pretty quickly. Singleton has a wonderful way with words and the situations she describes almost leap off the page, so I’ll definitely be reading more of her work.

 

83. Maureen Johnson – The Name of the Star - 4/5

This one was a zippy-fast read and I loved it! I’m a bit of a Ripper-ologist (not an expert, but I know an awful lot about the Ripper case and have read many books on th subject as I find it so fascinating). It’s a rip(per)-roaring read (sorry, I couldn’t resist a very poor pun there) and it lends itself well to short bursts of reading without losing anything by it. An excellent start to the series – I’ll be picking up the others for sure!

 

84. Julia Golding – The Middle Passage (Cat Royal novella) (Kindle e-book) - 3/5

I’m quite sad to have finished all the Cat Royal books as I’ve enjoyed them a great deal. I sincerely hope Golding decides to write Cat’s further adventures at some point, as I’m sure she’ll continue to have an exciting life packed with all manner of adventures. This one occurs between the last two books and is available for free download.

 

85. Michael Mullins – 8 (Kindle e-book) - 4/5

Did I ever mention I adore reworked fairytales? Well, this one doesn’t just retell a tale – it rhymes too! It’s incredibly short, but incredibly funny, and tells the untold story of the 8th dwarf (called Creepy) who was forced to live in the cellar but managed to save Snow White’s life several times (not that he ever got any thanks for it!). Mullins is an author to watch in the future if this is anything to go by!

 

86. Bettie Sharpe – Ember (Kindle e-book) - 5/5

A different view of the Cinderella story which turns what we think we know upside down. I have to say it is utterly brilliant! I’ve always loved reworked fairytales, but this one really is excellent. The subversion of the characters we all know and love works so well here that Sharpe has instantly become a new favourite author of mine! Ember is an innovative and inventive piece of fairytale fantasy that is anything but fluffy. There are some sex scenes and some naughty language, sl this one is strictly for the adults. It’s under a quid, so if you have a Kindle, download it NOW! If you don’t have a kindle, you can also read it free on the author’s website.

 

87. Cody Young – Scandal at the Farmhouse (Kindle e-book) - 4/5

Young is another author who is fast becoming a favourite of mine. I reviewed another of her novels (American Smile) a few months ago and am pleased to say that this historical romance lives up to the style that worked so well ni her period-hopping modern novel. The writing is lively, the characters bursting with energy and the passion smoulders so much I’m surprised my Kindle didn’t burst into flames!

 

88. Brian McGillowy – The Stolen Child (Kindle e-book) - 2/5

This was another short read but was rather disappointing. In fact, it was so uninspiring, I can’t even remember any of the character names and there were precious few of them. The idea is solid enough, but the execution is poor. If you have an hour or so to kill and have it on your Kindle, by all mean try it, but don’t go out of your way for it.

 

89. Amanda Hocking – Hollowland (Hollows 1) (Kindle e-book) - 3/5

I’d seen this one recommended all over the blogosphere and couldn’t resist downloading it to my Kindle, especially as it’s currently FREE! Well, how could I turn down a bargain like that? It certainly lived up to the glowing reviews. I don’t usually like zombie stories so much, but this one is engrossing and gives a plausible explanation for the shambling undead. It also helps that I like the characters a great deal and desperately wanted them to succeed! It’s also left tantalisingly open for a sequel…

 

90. Amanda Grange – Darcy’s Diary (Kindle e-book) - 4/5

One always worries, when reading a spin-off from a well-loved classic, that the characters will not be done justice and one cannot fail but to be severely disappointed. Sometimes, however, one finds those fears are comlpetely unfounded when a gem such as this is presented. It is nothing more than the retelling of Pride and Prejudice, told from Mr Darcy’s point of view ni diary form, but it is an exercise in exquisite execution. Darcy’s pride and offhand manner are captured perfectly and it’s refreshing to see the motivation behind many of his actions, as well as those moments we didn’t see in Pride and Prejudice, when Darcy was elsewhere. Highly recommended.

 

BOOKS STARTED AND CONTINUING INTO THE NEW YEAR:

Philippa Gregory – The Women of the Cousins’ War

One of the books I got for Xmas. I enjoyed the Women of the Cousins’ War trilogy so much I couldn’t resist bucking my trend of not reading non-fiction for this. I’m not very far into it yet, but what little I’ve read has been very interesting and promises to be as entertaining as the historical fiction it inspired.

 

BOOKS ABANDONED UNFINISHED:

Muriel Marbery – The Elegance of the Hedgehog – ABANDONED

I really wanted to like this one a whole lot more than I actually did. The writing is undeniably beautiful and the characters are poignantly real, but I felt I was waiting forever for something to happen. I initially laid it to one side as I was so busy over the Xmas period, fully intending to come back to it, but I found myself making excuses to avoid it and starting other books instead. Finally I admitted to myself that I will most likely never finish it. However, I’ll keep hold of it for a little while in case I change my mind.

 

Sarah Singleton – Heretic

I got this one from the library and just ran out of time. I may get it out again at some point in the future, but I have so many new books from Xmas that I’m dying to read, it may well be some time before that happens…

 

 

 

Wishing you all loads of

excellent reading 2012!